There are more than 3 million infertile couples in the United States, and 40% of cases are due to infertility in the man. A new procedure treats the most common cause of male infertility and raises the chances of pregnancy.
Women often get varicose veins in their legs; men can get them in the scrotum, called a varicocele. This is the most common cause of male infertility, because it disturbs blood flow to the testicles. About 10–15% of American men develop a varicocele, usually between 15 and 25.
A new procedure called venous embolisation, which blocks the swollen veins from inside, is a successful treatment for men with a varicocele. It clearly increases sperm counts in many patients within six months.
"Among the men whose sperm improved, more than a quarter of their healthy female partners became pregnant," says Dr Flach. The researchers also found that better sperm motility after treatment raised the couples' chances of a successful pregnancy. The study was published in Radiology in August 2008.
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